International Nurses Day

This week we are celebrating International Nurses Day. Nurses do one of the most important jobs in the world. There is a special day for us to celebrate them. International Nurses Day (IND) is on May 12 every year. Of course, this is the anniversary of Florence Nightingale's birth. On IND, nurses take part in different events to highlight the importance of their work. They give ordinary people a chance to learn about the work they do. Many hospitals and clinics organize fund-raising events to highlight the work of nurses. IND was started in the USA in 1965. The International Council For Nurses decided it was important to have a special day to raise awareness of the important work of nurses. It is also a day for nurses to pat themselves on the back and be proud of doing such a valuable job.

Florence Nightingale is known as the founder of modern nursing. She was British, but was born in Italy in 1820. She was named after her birth place, the city of Florence. She went to good schools and her parents thought she would marry a rich gentleman, which is what all good ladies did then. However, she felt the need to help people and became a nurse. Her parents were shocked. She started her nursing career when she was 33. A year later, she went to Turkey to help British soldiers wounded in the Crimean War. She worked very long hours into the early hours of the morning and got the nickname “lady of the lamp”. She greatly improved conditions in the hospital and changed hospital care and nursing forever.